Jürgen Vangeyte
Boosting Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Agriculture
At the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Jürgen Vangeyte heads the agrotechnology department and thus also the Flemish Test and Experiment Facility (TEF) of the European AgrifoodTEF network. The aim of the project is to boost and accelerate applications of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. “Because there is still a lot to be done in this area,” says the PhD in bioengineering, who was recently in the news when he introduced the first electric and self-driving tractor.
The main stumbling block? “We lack the trust of the farmer. Yet his farm holds loads of interesting data. We want to encourage and support him to start using it, to adopt new technologies and thereby also make farming more efficient and environmentally friendly.” Sounds pricy? On the contrary. “We are strongly committed to the farmer’s business model, so that with our research, agricultural machinery manufacturers can develop affordable products for him.”